Finishing up the cleanup

Friday

As the snow and ice from the recent winter storm begins to melt, officials in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties are pleased with the performance of their crews during the storm.

Lenoir County Department of Transportation Road Maintenance Supervisor Brian Harper said all of the primary roads in the county have been cleared, along with 35 to 40 percent of side roads.

He said crews were out continuing to work on the roads Friday morning and he hoped to have the rest of them cleared soon.

Steve Miller, assistant public services director at Kinston Public Services, said by the end of the day on Friday every street in the city should be cleared.

Miller said he thought the department responded well to the weather.

“Our crews worked pretty much round the clock after the event hit trying to make sure we got everything as good as we could on the main roadways so people could get out if they absolutely had to,” he said.

Lenoir County Emergency Services Director Roger Dail said he won’t have data on the number of weather-related incidents until next week, but he feels his department performed well during the storm.

“We got through it OK,” he said. “We were prepared, I think everybody was — fire, EMS law enforcement as well as our citizens.”

Greene County Manager Richard Hicks said all of the main roads in Greene County are clear, but many of the side roads still have ice and snow on them.

He said several county offices had to close to due the weather, but things are back up and running again.

We’re back on a normal schedule,” he said.

In Jones County, Mercer Ferrell, an office assistant with the state Department of Transportation, said as of Friday afternoon all of the main roadways in the county had been cleared and officials were hoping to have side roads cleared by the evening.

Ferrell said the wintry mix made the storm tough for workers.

“It wasn’t a typical snow storm due to all of the ice,” he said. “It was hard because the blades on our equipment rode the top of the ice but wouldn’t go through it.”

Ferrell said the department is prepared if another storm hits.

“We’ll restock the salt and be ready for the next one,” he said.

Jones County Manager Franky Howard he feels people in Jones County responded well to the weather.

“We had a good team,” he said. “The sheriff’s department had the appropriate vehicles to get manpower out where it was needed and we are thankful for the DOT crews.”

Howard said Friday was the deadline for tax listings in Jones County, but due to the weather, he is going to ask the county commissioners on Monday to extend the deadline until next Friday.

Officials in all three counties said they can’t currently estimate the financial impact of the storm.

Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @nclark763.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.